A 28-year-old woman has become the first deaf woman to be crowned Miss South Africa after a divisive competition, as per a report in the BBC. Mia Le Roux, who was diagnosed with profound hearing loss when she was aged one, expressed her hope in her victory speech that her success will inspire those who feel excluded to pursue their “wildest dreams, just like I am.” She also said that she wished to help those who were “financially excluded or differently abled”.

Ms Le Roux was declared the pageant winner after finalist Chidimma Adetshina, aged 23, withdrew due to criticism regarding her Nigerian origin and allegations regarding her mother’s identity. Notably, Ms Adetshina was born in South Africa to a Nigerian father and a South African mother, but the family came from Mozambique.

South Africa’s Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie, the leader of the Patriotic Alliance party also questioned Ms Adetshina’s identity to represent in the contest. “We truly cannot have Nigerians compete in our Miss SA competition. I wanna get all facts before I comment but it gives funny vibes already,” he said on X.

Ms Adetshina said that the entire event felt like “black-on-black hate,” bringing attention to the specific form of xenophobia known as “Afrophobia” that exists in South Africa and targets other Africans. She said that although there were other contestants with South Asian and European names among the 16 women, she was the only one getting most of the criticism.

The country’s Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said on August 6 that the department was investigating her citizenship at the request of the Miss South Africa organisation. Following the investigation, the ministry revealed: “Prima facie reasons exist to believe that fraud and identity theft may have been committed by the person recorded in home affairs records as Chidimma Adetshina’s mother.” As per the Guardian, the statement added, “An innocent South African mother, whose identity may have been stolen as part of the alleged fraud committed by Adetshina’s mother, suffered as a result because she could not register her child.”

On August 8, the 23-year-old took to Instagram to announce her decision to withdraw from the competition. “After much careful consideration, I have made the difficult decision to withdraw myself from the competition for the safety and well-being of my family and I. With the full support of the Miss South Africa Organisation, I leave with a heart full of gratitude for this amazing experience,” she wrote.

Meanwhile, Ms Le Roux uses a cochlear implant to help her hear. She claimed that before she could pronounce her first words, she had to have speech treatment for two years. The model, who is also a marketing manager said, “I am a proudly South African deaf woman and I know what it feels like to be excluded. I know now that I was put on this planet to break boundaries and I did it tonight.”